The Catherine Tate Show’s Christmas Day Special managed over 20 uses of the F-word in the first five minutes, which must be something of a record, even by today’s debased standards of modern entertainment.
True, the show was broadcast at 10.30pm, safely after the 9pm watershed when more adult material is shown, but this was on BBC1 on Christmas Day at a time when millions of families were likely to be watching together after the rigours of the day. We suspect many parents with youngish families must have grabbed the zapper and embarrassingly switched to something more appropriate.
Is the constant repetition of the F-word in the first sketch of a popular comedy show on Christmas Day really the BBC’s idea of family programming? What editorial vetting procedures did it undergo? And who was responsible for the final decision?
As usual in the opaque world of BBC decision-taking, it is not clear who is responsible and none of these questions is likely to be answered.
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